Have a Pixel 6 series device? You may not want to factory reset it (Update: Fix is ​​coming)

Update: July 2, 2024 (5:25 p.m. ET): Google has since acknowledged the issue and provided advice on how to avoid the problem. According to the company, if you’re using your Pixel 6 series device to download a system update, it’s recommended that you leave the device on and idle for 15 minutes after the restart. You can then perform a factory reset. Or you can perform a factory reset before performing a system update.

For anyone experiencing issues with a Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, or Pixel 6a, Google says it has found the root cause and recommends keeping an eye on the thread on the support page while a fix is ​​worked on.

Original article: July 1, 2024 (6:12 p.m. ET): Several Google Pixel 6 series users have recently reported an issue that causes their device to freeze during a factory reset. The problem appears to affect all three devices in the range, regardless of whether they are running the latest stable update or a beta version of Android 15.

According to user reports on Reddit and Google’s support forums (via TechIssuesToday), affected models of Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, and Pixel 6a fail to boot after attempting a factory reset and display different error messages during the boot process. While some are reporting an error stating that the device “cannot load Android system,” others have highlighted an error stating that the device “cannot enable ext4 verity” because a “tune2fs” file is missing.

Attempts to restore devices using the Android Flash Tool and Pixel Repair Tool also don’t seem to work, leaving users with no choice but to wait for an official fix from Google. Fortunately, Google seems to be aware of the issue.

According to a comment from a Platinum Product Expert in a related support forum thread, the relevant team at Google has stated that “this is a known issue and is currently being investigated.” However, since Google has not released an official statement, we do not know if a fix is ​​being worked on. We will update you as soon as we have more details.

It’s worth noting that the issue doesn’t seem to affect all Pixel 6 users, as we were able to successfully factory reset a Pixel 6 on the latest Android 15 beta and didn’t experience any issues. However, we still recommend against performing a factory reset until Google sheds more light on the underlying cause.